Harry Reid: President Obama may have to act on immigration

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that the Obama administration will have to act alone on stemming deportations if the House doesn’t move on immigration reform by this summer’s end.

The comments from Reid appeared to be the most definitive that the Senate’s top Democrat has given on the politically thorny question of whether the administration should use executive authority to halt deportations. That’s a top demand of pro-reform advocates, particularly from those who are skeptical the House will end up doing anything on immigration this year.

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The issue for Reid, as it is for other Democrats, is timing. Senate Democrats believe there is a narrow window of about six weeks this summer — from mid-June to the end of July — for the GOP-led House to move immigration bills, and they want the focus during that period to be on Republican lawmakers, not the administration.

“We’ve waited 329 days, we’re willing to wait another six weeks,” Reid said Thursday, referring to the number of days that have passed since his chamber passed a comprehensive reform bill. “But at the end of six weeks, if something hasn’t been done, then there’s gonna have to be a move made. And it’s too bad we have to do that, because we all know things can be done administratively, but it’s better to change the law.”

Reid said the best solution on immigration is a sweeping rewrite led by Congress. He endorsed an idea first floated by one of his top deputies, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.): Pass a bill this year, but have it take effect in January 2017 when a new president moves into the White House.

That is meant to take aim at a chief criticism from House Republicans: They don’t trust President Barack Obama to implement an immigration bill.

“If Republicans don’t trust President Obama, let’s give them a chance to implement the bill under President Rand Paul or President Theodore Cruz,” Reid said, referring to two current Republican senators who are potential presidential contenders in 2016. (Cruz’s first name is actually Rafael.)

“To be clear, delaying immigration reform is not my preference,” Reid continued. “But I feel so strongly that this bill needs to get done I’m willing to show flexibility.”

Reid declined to lay out specifics of how he believes Obama can act administratively on deportations, saying he has “strong feelings about things that can and should be done” but deferring to a pending review led by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson looking at the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.

Democrats, including Reid, have come under pressure from immigration advocates to take a tougher stance against Obama on deportations, urging the president to take action administratively while an immigration overhaul remains stalled.

One of the most vocal groups pressuring congressional Democrats has been United We Dream, a nationwide network of immigrant youths. After Reid’s comments Thursday, Lorella Praeli, the group’s advocacy and policy director, said: “We’re encouraged that Senator Reid acknowledges the urgency of our community and our families, but asking our parents to wait six more weeks when House Republicans have shown no signs of leading on the issue is wrong.”

Another group that works on behalf of young undocumented immigrants, Dream Action Coalition, said Reid was “wrong” to wait on a deportations call until August. The group’s co-director, Erika Andiola, said Reid “fails to hear the voices of the Latino community calling for the president to act now.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, said he has spoken to Obama about halting deportations and presented him with documents outlining his case. He said he didn’t know whether the administration’s lawyers would agree with his analysis.